Respected Macomb County official works behind the scenes

Right-hand man: a valuable assistant upon whom one is accustomed to rely.

That definition describes John Cwikla and how he works with his boss, Macomb County Executive Mark Hackel.

Cwikla isn’t a former schools superintendent like Mark Deldin, Hackel’s chief assistant. Nor is he a retired college president with a doctorate degree like Al Lorenzo, another key appointee in the executive office.

But there’s a reason Cwikla was among the first tapped to work for Hackel when he took over in 2012 as Macomb County’s first elected executive.

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Cwikla knows as much about the media as anyone in southeastern Michigan.

Officially the public information officer for Macomb County, Cwikla’s primary duty is serving as Hackel’s public relations person.

He’s not as well known as Deldin or Lorenzo and you’ll seldom, if ever, see his name mentioned publicly.

That’s not his job. Cwikla is the go-to guy for media covering Macomb County.

He writes press releases, arranges press conferences and makes sure the public is informed via Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and blogs.

Hackel’s media friendly personality has Cwikla on call 24/7. He’s up at 5:30 a.m., scanning web sites for any mention of Macomb County.

And Hackel’s team approach to management, with input sought from others, can be complex.

But Cwikla uses his own experiences in dealing with the media.

With more than four decades in communications, Cwikla “knows that they want.”

He has contacts and a vast knowledge of various media.

He has worked as a radio reporter, sports commentator, television news producer and even hosted a weekly show from the now-closed Mount Clemens Race Track.

His employers have included ABC News, ESPN, NFL Network, WBRB Radio and WXYZ-TV.

But even with all his media contacts, Cwikla is aware that shrinking news staffs and the 24-hour news cycle doesn’t ensure coverage of county events.

That’s a primary reason he checks scheduled events in the tri-county area before considering a news conference or setting a public event.

He even monitors TV crews that may be covering news events near the county-seat of Mount Clemens. A courthouse lunch break may give a news crew time for an interview with Hackel.

In his long career with the county, which started in 1990 at the Macomb County Sheriff’s Office, nothing compares to the 2007 investigation of the slaying of Tara Grant, who was reported missing. Her body parts were found days later in a park and eventually in her home’s garage.

Her husband, Stephen Grant, was arrested and convicted but while the investigation continued it was a series of at least daily press briefings and interviews with Hackel, who was then Macomb County sheriff.

“I don’t think I got more than two hours sleep nightly for two weeks,” Cwikla said.

“The national and international news coverage meant calls at any hour. We finally set up a site for satellite feeds of press briefings that could go around the world and be used at any time.”

While his job still includes press releases and briefings for the Sheriff’s Office, Cwikla works mostly with Hackel.

So does he have any inside information on whether Hackel, one of the most visible and popular elected officials in Michigan, will run for governor in 2018?

“Mark has a passion for people, not politics,” Cwikla said. “Given the choice between attending a political event and a community fundraiser, he’d rather go to the community affair.

Spoken like an experienced PR person.

But, as always, true.

Ken Kish, a retired editor and contributing columnist, may be reached at kennethkish12@gmail.com.